Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #garnets
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Early #medieval cloisonné jewellery sparkled because craftsmen placed small, thin pieces of patterned #gold foil behind #garnets & other precious stones to catch the light from different directions - like the gorgeous Ixworth Cross poppy.nsms.ox.ac.uk/woruldhord/ite… 
The technique may have been a specialism of an East Anglian workshop active c600-650 which also produced the stunning Wilton Cross and the fabulous collection found at Sutton Hoo research.britishmuseum.org/research/colle…
Here’s how it was done : a layer of paste in each #gold cell provided a base, covered by a thin gold sheet patterned in herringbone to reflect the light, with the #garnet set above. (Figure by Francois Farges via minsocam.org/msa/collectors…; & example from staffordshirehoard.org.uk/conservation-j…).
